Convertible Rear Door System

Abstract

A convertible rear door system includes a bottom frame (3), a fixed panel (1) mounted on the bottom frame (3), a movable panel (2) provided with a support rail (21) that can slide relative to the fixed panel (1), a slide rail assembly (4) for guiding the movable panel (2), and a drive mechanism (5) for pulling the movable panel (2) to act. The technical key point is that the movable panel (2) warps from the fully closed state to the maximum warping position, then descends in the same direction as the fixed panel (1), and slides forward from the back to above the fixed panel (1) so that the two partially or completely overlap. It has the advantages of simple and compact structure, large warping space, stable operation, etc.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a door that can be slidably arranged at the rear of a vehicle, specifically to a convertible rear door system. Background Art

[0002] Existing automotive rear door systems mainly install the rear door in an openable manner on the vehicle through a strut structure or / and a hinge structure. Although there is a sliding sunroof structure in the prior art, due to the different uses of the automotive rear door and the sliding sunroof, the sliding sunroof cannot be directly applied to the rear door system. For example, when it is necessary to open the rear door to pick up and place items daily, the rear door needs to provide a certain opening degree. During vehicle driving, it should also be ensured that the rear door has as small a wind resistance as possible and has sufficient supporting force to avoid damage caused by violent vibration.

[0003] For example, in the "sliding tailgate structure" disclosed in the patent application of the invention with the publication number CN114075903A, in this technical solution, through a driving unit arranged at the inner bottom of the sliding tailgate, it slides forward and upward along the vehicle body track, and the roof bar at its front end slides forward along the roof track after rotation until the sliding tailgate is located at the top of the vehicle. However, obviously, the sliding tailgate adopted in this solution is always close to the vehicle body during operation. If the bottom baffle is integrated with the sliding tailgate, interference will occur. If the bottom baffle cannot move, it will result in too small an opening space for the tailgate (the lower half of the rear of the vehicle cannot be opened), causing inconvenience in use.

[0004] For example, in the "automotive rear door structure" disclosed in the patent application of the invention with the publication number CN114379341A, in this technical solution, the upper rear door assembly and the lower rear door assembly respectively serve as the upper cover plate and the rear baffle of the trunk. The rear door of the upper rear door assembly can be slid upward to open, and the lower rear door assembly is opened downward through an electric strut and a hinge. In this technical solution, in order to avoid interference when the cover plate slides upward and ensure sufficient opening space, a split design of the upper rear door and the cover plate is adopted. However, obviously, this solution with a split structure increases the structural complexity and improves the manufacturing and maintenance costs. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a convertible rear door system, which fundamentally solves the above problems and has the advantages of simple and compact structure, large lifting space, stable operation, etc.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides the following technical solutions: the convertible tailgate system includes a bottom frame, a fixed panel installed on the bottom frame, a movable panel with support rails that can slide relative to the fixed panel, a slide rail assembly for guiding the movable panel, and a driving mechanism for pulling the movable panel to move. The technical key points are: the movable panel is lifted from a fully closed state to a maximum lift position, and then lowered to the same direction as the fixed panel, and slides from back to front to above the fixed panel, so that the two overlap partially or completely.

[0007] Furthermore, the driving mechanism includes a front driving mechanism guided by a single track and a rear driving mechanism guided by double tracks, which cooperate with the movable panel.

[0008] Furthermore, the front driving mechanism includes a front portion that can slide along a single track and a rear portion that can rotate relative to the front portion and is used to cooperate with the movable panel.

[0009] Furthermore, the front part of the front drive mechanism includes a front traction slider and a front flip arm, and the rear part of the front drive mechanism includes a panel bracket connected to the rear end of the front flip arm; front traction slider sliding feet are relatively provided on the inner and outer sides of the front traction slider, and the front traction slider is provided with a traction groove with a downward track, a first guide column is limited in the traction groove, and a second guide column opposite to the first guide column is provided on the front flip arm.

[0010] Furthermore, the rear drive mechanism includes a polygonal main structure that can be deflected on a vertical plane and is jointly limited by two tracks; each end point of the polygonal main structure is provided with a slider that can rotate relative to the main structure; one of the sliders is used for the movable panel, more than one slider is used for the upper track, and more than one slider is used for the lower track.

[0011] Furthermore, the rear driving mechanism includes a rear flip arm which is an inverted triangle, a rear traction slider which is arranged at each end of the rear flip arm, a lifting slider and a supporting slider.

[0012] Furthermore, the slide rail assembly includes a horizontally arranged front traction rail, a rear traction rail arranged with its far end tilted downward, and a warping rail located in the middle of the bottom of the rear traction rail and protruding toward the rear traction rail.

[0013] Furthermore, the front traction rail includes an upper track and a lower track arranged in parallel, an upper track guide for guiding downward is provided at the end of the upper track, and a lower track guide for guiding upward is provided at the same end of the lower track.

[0014] Furthermore, the bottom frame includes a rectangular frame for installing and fixing the panel, a pair of extensions arranged on one side of the rectangular frame, and a vertical wall portion arranged at the bottom of the extension.

[0015] Advantages of the present invention: In the overall technical solution, when the movable panel is driven by the driving mechanism, it overlaps with the fixed panel entirely or partially in the way of tilting up, descending, and sliding forward when it is opened. The front half of the front driving mechanism of the driving mechanism is driven forward to drive the movable panel under the guiding action of the front traction rail and the traction of a driving motor (not shown in the figure). The rear driving mechanism deflects under the common guidance of the rear traction rail and the tilting rail, and the supporting slider of the rear driving mechanism is used to slide and limit the supporting rail of the movable panel. The rear part of the movable panel tilts up or descends with the hinge point between the front part and the rear part of the front driving mechanism as the rotation axis under the deflection guidance of the rear driving mechanism.

[0016] Through the above opening method, the movable panel can avoid interference with the components below the movable panel by tilting up, and can avoid interference with the objects above the movable panel by optimizing the trajectory of the tilting rail to adjust the tilting angle of the movable panel. And when the movable panel deflects upward or downward, it effectively avoids jamming of the rear flip arm and the bottom frame. Description of the Drawings

[0017] Figure 1 It is a reference diagram of the usage state of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 It is a schematic exploded view of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2a is Figure 2 A partially enlarged structural schematic diagram of the front end.

[0020] Figure 2b is Figure 2 A partially enlarged structural schematic diagram of the rear end.

[0021] Figure 3 It is a front view structural schematic diagram of the movable panel of the present invention when it is closed.

[0022] Figure 3a is Figure 3 A partially enlarged structural schematic diagram of the front end.

[0023] Figure 3b is Figure 3 A partially enlarged structural schematic diagram of the rear end.

[0024] Figure 4 It is an isometric side view structural schematic diagram of the front driving mechanism.

[0025] Figure 4a is Figure 4 The top view structural schematic diagram of.

[0026] Figure 5 It is an isometric side view structural schematic diagram of the rear driving mechanism.

[0027] Figure 5a is Figure 5 a top view structural schematic diagram of

[0028] Figure 6 a structural schematic diagram of the movable panel cooperating with the support rail.

[0029] Figure 6a is Figure 6 structural schematic diagram I of the middle support rail cooperating with the rear flip arm in

[0030] Figure 6b is Figure 6 structural schematic diagram II of the middle support rail cooperating with the rear flip arm in

[0031] Figure 7 an isometric view structural schematic diagram of different working states of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 8 a front view structural schematic diagram of different working states of the present invention. Embodiment

[0033] The following combines Figures 1 - 8 to detail the content of the present invention through specific embodiments. Embodiment 1

[0034] As Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 2a , Figure 2b shown, the convertible rear door system includes a bottom frame 3, a fixed panel 1 fixed to the front side of the bottom frame 3, a movable panel 2 located at the rear side of the bottom frame 3 in the closed state, and other parts. Among them, the movable panel 2 can slide above the fixed panel 1 through the cooperation of a slide rail assembly 4 and a driving mechanism 5.

[0035] The bottom frame 3 includes a rectangular frame 32 for installing the fixed panel 1, a pair of extension parts 33 arranged on one side of the rectangular frame 32, and a vertical wall part 31 arranged at the bottom of the extension parts 33. A guide rail groove 321 is provided on the outer edge of the rectangular frame 32, and an installation groove 331 is provided between the rectangular frame 32 and the extension parts 33.

[0036] As Figure 3 , Figure 3a , Figure 3b shown, the slide rail assembly 4 includes a front traction rail 41, a rear slide rail 42, and a bottom slide rail 43 respectively installed on the bottom frame 3. Among them, the front traction rail 41 is embedded in the guide rail groove 321 of the above-mentioned rectangular frame 32 and is located outside the fixed panel 1. The extension parts 33 adopt a folded structure with an outer high and inner low shape. The rear slide rail 42 is rigidly fixed inside the extension parts 33, and the front end of the rear slide rail 42 is located in the installation groove 331. The bottom slide rail 43 is rigidly fixed inside the vertical wall part 31.

[0037] Among them, the front traction rail 41 adopts an upper track 411 and a lower track 412 that are arranged in the same upward and downward directions. Further, a downward-extending upper track guide 4111 is provided at the rear end of the upper track 411, and an upward-extending lower track guide 4121 that plays a certain limiting role is provided at the rear end of the lower track 412.

[0038] The rear slide rail 42 adopts a rear chute 421 arranged in the same direction as the support rail 21 of the movable panel 2 and a rear traction rail guide 422 installed in the installation groove 331, and the rear traction rail guide 422 is arranged in the same direction as the upper track 411 or the lower track 412.

[0039] The bottom slide rail 43 adopts a warping rail track 431 with a middle convex and arched track, and a warping rail guide 432 in the same direction as the rear chute 421 is provided at the rear end of the warping rail track 431.

[0040] In addition, the warping angle of the movable panel 2 can be adjusted by adjusting the middle convex position and convex height of the warping rail 43 and the size of the rear turning arm 524. For example, the highest warping position of the rear half of the movable panel 2 can be adjusted below the plane of the fixed panel 1 to avoid interference with external items above the vehicle. The figure is omitted.

[0041] Such as Figure 6 、 Figure 6a 、 Figure 6b As shown, the front and rear ends of the movable panel 2 move under the guidance of the front traction rail 41 as a single track, the rear traction rail 42 as a double track, and the warping rail 43. Among them, the rear traction slider 521 and the warping slider 522 of the rear drive mechanism 52 are respectively located in the rear traction rail 42 and the warping rail 43, and guide the rear turning arm 524 to deflect forward or backward during the sliding process. To cooperate with the movement of the movable panel 2, a support rail 21 arranged in the same direction in the rear chute 421 is provided at the bottom of the movable panel 2. The support rail 21 is installed at a position slightly behind the middle of the movable panel 2 and is limited by the protruding part 211. And the protruding part 211 of the support rail 21 cooperates with the "inverted T-shaped" groove part 5231 of the support slider 523, so that the support slider 523 can slide along the support rail 21.

[0042] Such as Figure 4 、 Figure 4a 、 Figure 5 、 Figure 5a As shown, the drive mechanism 5 includes a front drive mechanism 51 and a rear drive mechanism 52 that cooperate with each other. Among them, the front drive mechanism 51 includes a front traction slider 511 in the shape of a rectangle, a front turning arm 512 in the shape of a triangle, and a panel support 513 in a folded shape. The panel support 513 is pivotally arranged at the rear end of the front turning arm 512 and is fixed to it through a rigid support foot (not marked in the figure) at the bottom of the movable panel 2.

[0043] The front traction slider 511 is provided with one or more front traction slider sliding feet 5112 (the present embodiment takes one pair of sliding feet at the front and rear as an example) on the upper part, and the front traction slider sliding feet 5112 are slidably arranged in the upper track 411; the rear part of the front traction slider 511 is provided with a traction groove 5111 for cooperating with the first guide column 5121.

[0044] A first guide column 5121 is provided at the front end of the front flip arm 512, and one end of the first guide column 5121 can be slidably engaged in the traction groove 5111 of the front traction slider 511; the other end can be rotatably engaged in the lower track guide 4121 of the front traction rail 41 and can slide along the lower track 412.

[0045] One or more second guide posts 5122 (a single guide post is used as an example in this embodiment) that cooperate with the upper track guide 4111 are provided at the bottom of the front flip arm 512 . The second guide posts 5122 can be rotatably engaged in the upper track guide 4111 and can slide along the upper track 411 .

[0046] The rear driving mechanism 52 includes an inverted triangle rear flip arm 524 body, and the front end of the rear flip arm 524 is pivotally provided with a first rear slider 521. The first rear slider 521 is also arranged in the rear slide groove 421 of the rear slide rail 42 and can slide along the rear slide groove 421.

[0047] A tilting slider 522 is pivotally disposed at the lower end of the rear flip arm 524 , and the tilting slider 522 is also disposed in a tilting rail track 431 of the bottom slide rail 43 and can slide along the tilting rail track 431 .

[0048] The rear end of the rear flip arm 524 is pivotally provided with a support slider 523. The support slider 523 is provided with one or more grooves 5231.

[0049] like Figure 7 , Figure 8As shown, the movable panel 2 is jointly guided by the slide rail assembly 4 and the drive mechanism 5. The front end of the front drive mechanism 51 slides horizontally along the front traction rail 41. The front end of the movable panel 2 is assembled to the rotatable rear end of the front drive mechanism 51, serving as the fulcrum for the tilting angle. During the sliding of the tilting slider 522 along the bottom chute and the rear traction slider 521 along the rear traction track 421, the rear flip arm 524 deflects forward in the vertical plane under the guiding action of the slider at its end, thereby driving the movable panel 2 to rotate around the above-mentioned fulcrum of the tilting angle to achieve tilting. Under the action of the chute of the tilting rail 43, it first tilts to the maximum tilting position above the horizontal position (the plane where the fixed panel 1 is located), and then the tilting angle decreases, and the movable panel 2 is located above the fixed panel 1 at an angle close to the horizontal. At this time, the rear traction slider 521 is limited by the guiding of the rear traction track 421, and the front flip arm 512 continues to drag the movable panel 2 to slide forward. At this time, the support slider 523 serves as a sliding support and slides backward relative to the movable panel 2.

[0050] Among them, the front traction rail 41 guides the front drive mechanism 51 and serves as the front sliding fulcrum of the movable panel 2. The rear drive mechanism 52 serves as the tilting guide and rear sliding fulcrum of the movable panel 2, thereby slidably limiting the rotation of the movable panel 2.

[0051] As Figure 8 As shown in State I, for the front flip arm 512, one end of the first guide post 5121 remains in the lower track guide 4121, and the other end remains in the horizontal section of the traction groove 5111, so that the first guide post 5121 is in a stable constraint state. Moreover, the second guide post 5122 remains in the upper track guide 4111; under the combined action of the first guide post 5121 and the second guide post 5122, the front flip arm 512 is kept in a lying posture.

[0052] For the rear flip arm 524, the first rear slider 521 is kept in the rear chute 421 of the rear slide rail 42 through the rear traction slider sliding foot 5211; the tilting slider 522 is kept in the tilting rail track 431; the support slider 523 is kept on the protrusion 211; under the above comprehensive action, the rear flip arm 524 is kept in a lying posture.

[0053] As Figure 8 As shown in State II, the motor independently drives the first rear slider 521 to slide forward along the rear chute 421. Under the action of the upward extending track of the tilting rail track 431, the tilting slider 522 is driven to passively slide upward from the tilting rail guide 432 to the high place of the tilting rail track 431; the support slider 523 slides forward passively along the support rail 21, so that the rear flip arm 524 slides forward and deflects forward during the sliding process, driving the movable panel 2 to tilt upward.

[0054] As Figure 8As shown in State III, the motor continues to drive the first rear slider 521 to slide forward along the rear chute 421. Under the action of the downward extension trajectory of the warping rail trajectory 431, the warping slider 522 is driven to slide downward passively towards the front end of the warping rail trajectory 431; the support slider 523 continues to slide forward passively along the support rail 21 until the first rear slider 521 reaches the foremost end of the lower trajectory guide 4121 and deflects forward during the sliding process, driving the movable panel 2 to gradually descend from the maximum warping angle to the horizontal position.

[0055] During the above movement process, another motor drives the front traction slider 511 to slide forward. The first guide post 5121 relatively moves from the horizontal section of the traction groove 5111 to the downward inclined section, thereby driving the other end of the first guide post 5121 to move from the lower trajectory guide 4121 into the lower trajectory 412 and move forward; and drives the second guide post 5122 to move from the upper trajectory guide 4111 into the upper trajectory 411, causing the front flipping arm 512 to warp.

[0056] Under the combined action of the front drive mechanism 51 and the rear drive mechanism 52, the movable panel 2 is changed from the warping state to the horizontal state, preparing for the further forward opening of the movable panel 2.

[0057] As Figure 8 As shown in State IV, the first rear slider 521 stops moving and the rear drive mechanism 52 maintains its posture; the front traction slider 511 drives the warping front flipping arm 512 to continue moving forward, and the support rail 21 of the movable panel 2 slides forward relative to the support slider 523, thereby realizing the horizontal opening of the movable panel 2 until it is fully opened.

[0058] The above is the movement process of the movable panel 2 from fully closed to fully opened. The closing movement process is opposite to the above process and will not be described in detail here.

[0059] Unless otherwise specified, the front-back direction mentioned in the text is referenced based on the forward or backward direction of the vehicle.

[0060] Those skilled in the art can conceive that under the concept of the present invention, for the drive mechanism, a similar way to that of the existing sliding sunroof, which is driven by a motor to drive a flexible shaft and the flexible shaft pulls the slider to move, can be adopted. In order to accommodate the drive flexible shaft, a guide groove is usually reserved in the guide rail. The derivative structures of the above flexible shaft drive scheme will not be described in detail in the text.

[0061] 1 Fixed panel;

[0062] 2 Movable panel, 21 Support rail, 211 Protrusion;

[0063] 3 Bottom frame, 31 Vertical wall portion, 32 Rectangular frame, 321 Guide rail groove, 33 Extension portion, 331 Installation groove;

[0064] 4 Slide rail assembly, 41 Front traction rail, 411 Upper track, 4111 Upper track guide, 412 Lower track, 4121 Lower track guide, 42 Rear traction rail, 421 Rear traction track, 422 Rear traction rail guide, 43 Lifting rail, 431 Lifting rail track, 432 Lifting rail guide;

[0065] 5 Driving mechanism, 51 Front driving mechanism, 511 Front traction slider, 5111 Traction groove, 5112 Front traction slider sliding foot, 512 Front flipping arm, 5121 First guide post, 5122 Second guide post, 513 Panel bracket, 52 Rear driving mechanism, 521 Rear traction slider, 5211 Rear traction slider sliding foot, 522 Lifting slider, 523 Support slider, 5231 Groove part, 524 Rear flipping arm.

Claims

1. A convertible rear door system, comprising a bottom frame (3), a fixed panel (1) mounted on the bottom frame (3), a movable panel (2) provided with a support rail (21) that can slide relative to the fixed panel (1), a slide rail assembly (4) for guiding the movable panel (2), and a drive mechanism (5) for pulling the movable panel (2) to act, characterized in that: The movable panel (2) is lifted from a completely closed state to a maximum lift position, and then lowered to the same direction as the fixed panel (1), and slides from back to front to above the fixed panel (1), so that the two partially or completely overlap; The slide rail assembly (4) comprises a front traction rail (41) arranged horizontally, a rear traction rail (42) arranged at a distal end to be tilted downward, and a warping rail (43) located in the middle of the bottom of the rear traction rail (42) and protruding toward the rear traction rail (42); The front traction rail (41) comprises an upper track (411) and a lower track (412) arranged in parallel, the end of the upper track (411) is provided with an upper track guide (4111) for guiding downward, and the same end of the lower track (412) is provided with a lower track guide (4121) for guiding upward; The front part of the front driving mechanism (51) comprises a front traction slider (511) and a front flip arm (512); the front flip arm (512) is provided with a first guide post (5121) and a second guide post (5122) opposite to the first guide post (5121); the rear part of the front driving mechanism (51) comprises a panel bracket (513) connected to the rear end of the front flip arm (512); front traction slider sliding feet (5112) are provided opposite to each other on the inner and outer sides of the front traction slider (511); the front traction slider (511) is provided with a traction groove (5111) with a downward trajectory; the first guide post (5121) is slidably limited in the traction groove (5111); One end of the first guide post (5121) can be slidably engaged in the traction groove (5111) of the front traction slider (511); the other end can be rotatably engaged in the lower track guide (4121) of the front traction rail (41) and can slide along the lower track (412); The second guide post (5122) can be rotatably engaged in the upper track guide (4111) and can slide along the upper track (411); The rear drive mechanism (52) comprises a polygonal main structure which is limited by two tracks and can be deflected on a vertical plane; each end point of the polygonal main structure is provided with a slider which can rotate relative to the main structure; one of the sliders cooperates with the support rail (21), more than one slider is located in the rear traction rail (42), and more than one slider is located in the lifting rail (43).

2. The convertible rear door system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rear driving mechanism (52) comprises a rear flip arm (524) in the shape of an inverted triangle, a rear traction slider (521) arranged at each end of the rear flip arm (524), a tilting slider (522) and a supporting slider (523).

3. The convertible rear door system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The bottom frame (3) comprises a rectangular frame (32) for mounting and fixing the panel (1), a pair of extensions (33) arranged on one side of the rectangular frame (32), and a vertical wall (31) arranged at the bottom of the extension (33).

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